


Cucumber mint

by walkingwiththejeese



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:41:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23624041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkingwiththejeese/pseuds/walkingwiththejeese
Summary: The simple truth is, Doyoung absolutely loathes and detests cucumbers.And yet here Doyoung was, standing in the kitchen with a slice of cucumber in his hand, seconds away from popping it into his mouth as some kind of strange litmus test to ascertain his sanity.This was all Taeyong’s fault.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 12
Kudos: 129





	Cucumber mint

**Author's Note:**

> This was born out of a random conversation that I had with [@culthuangs](https://twitter.com/culthuangs) where we waxed lyrical about our shared love for Doyoung and mixed that in with his (and our!!) absolute distaste for cucumbers. Thanks for always being there to cry over the boys with me 💚
> 
> My first ever fic, enjoy!!

Doyoung hates cucumbers. 

Cucumbers smell completely vile to Doyoung, somewhat reminiscent of rancid drain water with bits of mossy algae floating in it. Just a tiny whiff of it is enough to make him sick to his stomach and bring him to his knees. The actual act of consuming cucumbers on the other hand, is something that Doyoung considers unimaginable. He has tried exactly once in his childhood to put that wretched _thing_ in his mouth in an attempt to overcome his aversion towards it, but it had ended up in him spilling his entire gut out in the bathroom. He has never forgotten the slimy, bitter taste that lingered on in his mouth, and he has no intentions of ever voluntarily trying it again.

The reactions that the 127 members had to Doyoung’s hatred for cucumbers came in a varied spectrum. There were the members who used Doyoung’s revulsion towards cucumbers as a means to constantly poke at his buttons. Donghyuck was the one who thoroughly revelled in this little game, abruptly shoving pieces of cucumber into Doyoung’s face at meal times teasingly so that he could film the look of horror that would inevitably snake across Doyoung’s face. Donghyuck even uploaded a small snippet from his precious collection of Doyoung hyung reaction videos to start a viral challenge and the fans had loved his little act of mischief. Which was basically how everyone and their mothers came to know of this little quirk of Doyoung’s. 

And then there were the members who unintentionally caused Doyoung to almost go into cardiac arrest all the time. Doyoung once walked into Jaehyun’s room while he placed slices of cucumbers on his face to test its efficacy as a face mask. Apparently Jaehyun needed to know since their fans kept asking him to drop his skincare routine when he had none, and he wanted to see if it was a tip he could give their fans. Doyoung would never forget the way Jaehyun laughed so hard that the cucumbers tumbled off his face, when Doyoung walked right into the door in his haste to get away immediately from the offending cucumbers. 

There was Johnny, who occasionally slipped a couple of pieces of cucumbers into his water, supposedly to “enhance” the flavour. Doyoung almost got a concussion the last time Johnny tried to offer the cucumber infused water to Doyoung during one of of their gym workouts. Just the sight alone of those little green fiends swimming in water was enough to send Doyoung stumbling frantically backwards into the dumbbells he was working on earlier. Johnny had snickered non stop after that, swinging his bottle deliberately in Doyoung’s pale face from time to time. _Damn Johnny hyung and his muscles._ Doyoung would have picked up the bottle and swung it right at Johnny’s head if not for his fear of Johnny’s physical prowess. 

There was also the occasional hapless member who would unknowingly walk into the depths of Doyoung’s cucumber fuelled rage. Mark had the unfortunate honor of adding this to his resume, when he volunteered to do a grocery run with Doyoung on their rare day off. The poor boy had grabbed some cucumbers instead of the zucchini that Doyoung asked him to, his ability to tell the two green gourds apart as good as his egg frying skills. Doyoung later flew into a frenzied nagging session at Mark that lasted two hours, when he discovered the cucumbers peeking out diabolically from their grocery bag as they unpacked everything. 

Mark had gotten so distressed by the incessant “Mark how could you make a mistake like that? Don’t you know how gross cucumbers are? You could have killed me!” that he started avoiding Doyoung like the plague after that. It eventually got to the point where Donghyuck ran up to Taeyong, complaining that “Mark hyung has been avoiding our fifth floor for a month now because he’s terrified of Doyoung hyung!” Taeyong had chuckled as he slipped off to speak softly to Doyoung about Mark’s newfound phobia. It took Doyoung a week’s worth of aegyo and soft apologies before Mark finally worked up enough courage to go back down to the fifth floor for meals again. Even so, Mark still gets the shivers whenever anyone mentions the word cucumber in front of Doyoung. 

The simple truth is, Doyoung absolutely loathes and detests cucumbers. 

And yet here Doyoung was, standing in the kitchen with a slice of cucumber in his hand, seconds away from popping it into his mouth as some kind of strange litmus test to ascertain his sanity. 

This was all Taeyong’s fault. 

🥒🥒🥒

**_One month ago_ **

Doyoung and Taeyong sat side by side on the leather couch in their recording studio. Taeyong’s forehead was scrunched up in intense concentration on the game in his hands, while Doyoung leaned in lazily onto Taeyong’s arms, flipping through his heavily annotated lyric sheets. Doyoung’s hands travelled up to idly pick at the dried skin on his lips, wincing in pain when he realised it was starting to bleed a little. 

“Hyung, do you have some lip balm?”

“Yeah I do actually. Hold on a second.”

Doyoung watched as Taeyong put away his Nintendo switch and dug around in his Dior saddle bag. Taeyong had been carrying the bag around everywhere ever since he doodled on it, and their fans had fawned over Taeyong’s artistic abilities. Doyoung would never admit it, but he found Taeyong absolutely adorable when he was focused on doodling, because of the way his lips would pucker up in concentration, tongue poking out at random intervals when the doodle didn’t go the way he wanted. Taeyong would also have the cutest smile while humming a little happy tune whenever he was pleased with his doodle. Doyoung secretly loved it, and he would occasionally revisit the shoe drawing vlive broadcast that Taeyong once did, imagining it to be how Taeyong must have been like when he customised Doyoung’s pair of white Nike Air sneakers. 

Doyoung loses himself in his thoughts for a moment before snapping out of it when Taeyong lets out a small whoop. 

“Found it! Here.” 

Doyoung’s gaze fell on the small tube of lip balm that Taeyong triumphantly brandished in front of his face and recoiled in disgust.

“What the fuck hyung? Burt’s bees in cucumber mint? That isn’t even just bad taste, that’s plain illegal!”

Taeyong stared calmly back at Doyoung, completely unfazed by Doyoung’s agitation.

“It’s not illegal and it’s honestly not that bad. I got it in the US when we were on the SuperM tour and even Baekhyun hyung didn’t say anything nasty about it.”

Doyoung’s eyes widened in horror, “You’re lying. Baekhyun hyung wouldn’t even go anywhere near that thing. He hates cucumbers more than I do, everyone knows that.”

“This doesn’t even smell that similar to real cucumbers Doyoung.” Taeyong explained patiently, while Doyoung continued to stare in disdain at him. “It actually tastes pretty sweet and good if you ask me.”

“You’re completely out of your mind, Lee Taeyong.”

“Well do you want it or not? We’re going to be recording for at least two more hours. You’ll either have to deal with painful, cracked and bleeding lips while singing or just shut the fuck up and put this on.” Taeyong shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. “It’s your battle to pick.”

Doyoung clenched his teeth. He knew Taeyong was right. It was a late night recording session that would stretch past dawn, and Doyoung’s skin would just continue to dry out no matter how much water he tried to guzzle down in their stuffy recording studio. 

“Don’t be a baby! Plus you love mint, and this tastes only of mint when you put it on. Doie, you’ll barely even be able to smell the cucumber” Taeyong softened his voice as he called out the nickname that he reserved exclusively for cajoling Doyoung into doing something.

“Fine. But if I throw up, it’s all your fault.” Doyoung grudgingly picked up the tube of lip balm from Taeyong’s outstretched hands. Taeyong smiled sweetly at him. “You won’t, trust me. You might end up getting addicted to the taste!” 

“As if.” Doyoung scoffed, as he gingerly twisted the green cap of the lip balm open. He held his breath when he brought the tube near his lips, barely applying the balm on in short staccato dabs. 

Taeyong watched Doyoung with an amused smile before he sighed and wrangled the lip balm out of Doyoung’s hands. He started applying it in short strokes onto Doyoung’s lips, while Doyoung sat frozen in place at Taeyong’s actions, still not breathing. 

“Geez Doyoung, breathe!!” Taeyong sent a hard slap to Doyoung’s back, who had in the meantime gone green in the face. The slap sent Doyoung choking on a sharp intake of breath, and he continued to cough for several seconds. Taeyong shook his head at Doyoung before handing over a bottle of water. 

Doyoung took a long swig out of the bottle, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips out of habit. His eyes widened as he realised that Taeyong was right, _this actually tastes terrific. And it smells nothing like cucumbers._

Taeyong caught the flash of astonishment that flitted across Doyoung’s face and laughed. “See? Told you it’s not that bad!” Taeyong’s eyes twinkled as he ruffled Doyoung’s hair affectionately, and Doyoung was hit with a sudden thought. _Has his eyes always been this pretty?_ Doyoung shook his head, trying to clear his mind when a second, more insistent and alarming thought took over. _His lips… how would they taste against mine? Would it taste as sweet as this?_

Doyoung felt his heart begin to pound and dropped his face to hide the flush that was rapidly spreading from his cheeks down to his neck. Thankfully, the recording director interrupts the moment to inform that it was Doyoung’s turn and he scrambles for the door, escaping into the darkness of the recording studio. Doyoung is so caught up in the thoughts that flood his mind for the rest of the day, that he misses the glint in Taeyong’s eyes when his gaze lingers on Doyoung’s lips for the rest of the recording session. 

🥒🥒🥒

It has been a month since their recording, and Doyoung suddenly finds himself in the sticky predicament of constantly throwing glances at Taeyong’s lips while his thoughts wander off to how those cucumber lip balm smothered lips would taste on his own. He doesn’t know why the thoughts refuse to fade, whether the fluttery feelings he has just caught are lip balm induced or caused by their charming owner. Doyoung is also unsure if Taeyong even senses his inner turmoil, since Taeyong just continues to playfully bicker over every single trivial thing with Doyoung as usual.

It is also in this month that Doyoung realises how he’s completely surrounded everywhere by villainous cucumbers that remind him of Taeyong — in the takeout bibimbab that their manager buys for them, in the chicken breast salads that Johnny eats in front of him after gym sessions, in the kalguksu that Doyoung orders in for lunch… heck, he’s even noticed that their stylist noona uses cucumber scented hand creams.

Doyoung desperately wants to talk to someone to make sense of it all, to exorcise these thoughts out of his mind. In a normal situation, Doyoung would have gone straight to Taeyong without hesitation. But Doyoung couldn’t possibly go to his best friend to have an extended discourse on wanting to kiss him, could he? On the verge of losing his mind, Doyoung decides to go to the next person that he can think of. The person who is as close to him as he is to Taeyong.   
  


“Hyung. Do you think it’s normal to feel affection for your friends?”

Doyoung bursts into Johnny’s room while Johnny sips on a cup of coffee on his bed. Johnny stares at Doyoung like he’s grown two heads. “Um, yes? I mean, you’re my friend and I feel affection for you all the time. Although sometimes when you start nagging, I start feeling sparks of murderous intent..”

Doyoung rolls his eyes and gives Johnny a shove. “No you don’t get it, hyung. I feel so much affection that… I think.. I kind of.. Iwanttokisshim..” Doyoung’s voice trails off uncertainly into a low mumble. 

“WHAT? KISS WHO?”

“SHH!!!! Shut up hyung, someone might hear!!” Doyoung hisses, eyes darting around frantically to see if anyone heard them as he pushes his palm roughly onto Johnny’s mouth. Johnny raises the arm that’s not holding the coffee cup in mock defeat and it takes a moment before Doyoung’s anxiety quells enough for him to lower his hands. Johnny laughs quietly, sets his coffee on Donghyuck’s computer desk before moving across the room to shut the door. He turns around to face Doyoung, who has since shuffled over to climb into Donghyuck’s bed, drawing his knees close to his face. 

“Alright. Who’s this person that you want to kiss?”

Doyoung bit down on his lips, torn between whether or not to answer Johnny’s question. It’s been a month since that name has been swimming constantly in his head, but somehow having to say it out aloud makes it feel even more real. Johnny raises his eyebrows at Doyoung as he waits, prompting Doyoung to whisper in a strangled voice.

“Taeyong hyung”

Johnny pauses for a moment before breaking into a guffaw. “Man, I thought it was something serious!”

“This is serious!” Doyoung looks at Johnny with tears glistening in his eyes, stricken. Johnny quietens immediately at the sight. “All right, I’m sorry. Let’s do this again, do you want to tell me more?”

In between shuddery breaths, Doyoung ekes out his story, of the incident with the cucumber mint lip balm, of how he can no longer look at Taeyong without thinking of how his lips would feel like, of how it feels like all the air is being squeezed out of his body when he thinks of Taeyong, of his month long struggle trying to process and get over the whirlpool of emotions that he’s gotten himself into. Doyoung drops his head in between his knees when he finishes, drained and defeated.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to kiss someone you love, Doyoung.” Johnny muses.

Doyoung’s head shoots up from between his knees. “What?! I’m not in love with Taeyong hyung! He’s.. he’s my best friend! How could it..?”

Johnny sighed. “Most friends don’t start crying because they see their best friend struggle with a bad bout of flu. Friends don’t bicker the whole day and then go to bed cuddling each other, Doyoung. Friends don’t look into each other’s eyes like they hold all the stars in the universe. Both you and Taeyong are guilty of all that, and I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to conclude that you guys are in love with each other.”

“But.. that’s impossible…” Doyoung counters weakly.

“Is that so hard to believe? I mean, it’s either your feelings towards Taeyong have changed or your taste buds have evolved and you like cucumbers now.” Johnny picked up his coffee and took another sip. “You’re a smart cookie, Doyoung. Give it some thought and I’m sure you’ll figure it out. And while you’re at it, you mind bringing me my bottle? The one with the sliced cucumbers.”

Johnny laughs when a pillow gets thrown into his face. 

“YAH HYUNG!!”

🥒🥒🥒

And this is how Doyoung ends up standing in their dorm kitchen at midnight, staring with determination at the cucumbers in his hands. This was it, the litmus test to his sanity that he had finally came up with after the talk with Johnny. If Doyoung eats the cucumbers and likes them, it would mean that he had a logical explanation for his month long dilemma. Doyoung tries hard not to think of what it would mean if the reverse happens. Doyoung lifts his hands to bring the cucumbers near his mouth and the pungent smell invades his senses immediately.

Doyoung feels sick to his stomach. 

“Hyung? What’s happening? Are you ok?” Donghyuck stands at the entrance of the kitchen, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. 

“I’m ok, do you need anything?” Doyoung smiles weakly at Donghyuck.

“Just thirsty.. wait but aren’t those cucumbers? Are you really ok hyung?” Donghyuck stares warily at the green slices in Doyoung’s hands. 

“I’m ok. I just thought Mark would like these as a snack tomorrow, you know he’s been working so hard lately..” Doyoung stammers out the first excuse that he can think of, while handing a glass of water to Donghyuck. Doyoung hopes that will do the trick to keep Donghyuck from asking more questions. 

Donghyuck downs the water in one shot and hands the glass back to Doyoung. “But Mark hyung said he’ll be spending the night at the studio. He’s got morning schedules tomorrow and he won’t be coming back for breakfast...”

“That’s right. I forgot. Go back to bed, Donghyuck.” 

Donghyuck looks at Doyoung again with suspicion in his eyes and mutters under his breath. “Okay. Night hyung.”

Doyoung lets out the breath he was holding back as Donghyuck exits the kitchen, padding lightly back to his shared room with Johnny. The tension in his body seeps out as Doyoung sinks down to his feet, his epiphany of the night finally sinking in and registering in his mind.

Doyoung is in love with Taeyong.

🥒🥒🥒

The next couple of weeks pass by in a flurry of action. Spring has arrived, and the boys are preparing for their repackage album so Doyoung barely has time to let his thoughts stray to his newfound emotions. Even so, Doyoung finds comfort in his realisation that he is in love with his best friend, someone that he trusts his whole life with, someone that he’s seen himself growing old with even before he fell in love. Not being sure of his feelings earlier on had unsettled him, but now that Doyoung was sure of his heart, he was much more at ease. Doyoung knows instinctively that Taeyong cares as much for Doyoung, and that he would never hurt Doyoung even if he did not return Doyoung’s affections. This relieves some of the worry that Doyoung has been feeling, though he remains anxious about how he should broach this subject with Taeyong. 

On the day that the cherry blossoms go into full bloom, the whole of 127 finally gets a day off. The members scatter into groups, each chattering excitedly about the plans they’ve made for their final break before their next comeback. Taeyong sidles up to Doyoung’s side with an invitation. “Wanna go shopping? We can drop by the bakery before coming back to watch a movie.”

Doyoung flashes his gummy smile at Taeyong. “Sure hyung. I’d love to.”

The day passes by quickly, both going through their familiar routine of bickering while shopping, buying each other random gifts, stopping for Taeyong’s favourite canelé at the bakery he was a regular at before going back to Doyoung’s room at the dorm for their movie night. Doyoung is exhausted by the time they reach the dorm, but he feels warm right down to his toes beside Taeyong. 

It was familiar, and it was perfect.

After washing up, they snuggle up comfortably on Doyoung’s bed, and Taeyong starts playing a movie on Doyoung’s beam projector. Doyoung doesn’t even register what movie is on the screen, as he’s busy watching Taeyong’s every move the whole time. Without thinking, Doyoung calls out to Taeyong.

“Hyung.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you still using that cucumber mint lip balm?”

Taeyong’s eyes break away from the movie and his eyebrows knit in confusion. “What? Why do you ask?”

Doyoung’s gaze flits down to Taeyong’s lips for the briefest of a second before he nervously stutters. “Nothing.. I just wondered if.. you know.. if you really think it actually tastes good..” Doyoung squeezes his eyes shut as he braces himself for the inevitable embarrassment, internally cursing himself for his awkward and rambly answer.

“Well wouldn’t you like to find out now?” Taeyong giggles with a teasing lilt in his voice, nuzzling his nose gently into the sleeve of Doyoung’s blue hoodie.

And then something within Doyoung snaps, breaks. 

He moves quicker than he can think, and turns his face to meet Taeyong’s lips for a quick peck, tongue swiftly darting out to swipe across for a taste of that cursed lip balm that hasn’t left his mind for a whole month. Both boys stare at each other for a stunned second that follows, before Taeyong’s eyes turn dark and heavy.

What follows next is a haze for Doyoung. He doesn’t remember who moves next, it could have been Doyoung, it might have been Taeyong, or perhaps both of them moved in to close the remaining distance between them at the same time. All he remembers is the warm urgency in which their mouths clashed against each other, how they kissed each other like their lives depended on it and how everything around him seemed to just fade into an intoxicating high. Doyoung’s trembling hands instinctively find their way to the comforting warmth of Taeyong’s back, gripping onto the soft material of the worn out shirt that he’s wearing. Taeyong bites down lightly on Doyoung’s lower lips, which draws out a little broken sound from Doyoung. So he does it again. And again. And again, until both of them start to get a little light headed. 

There is a moment of silence when they finally break apart and Doyoung’s heart skips a beat, unsure of how to react to the fact that he had just kissed his best friend. Above all, that he had _really, really enjoyed it._ He feels the blood pounding in his ears rise into a deafening crescendo when the silver haired boy raises his face and smiles shyly at Doyoung. 

“Wow. I can’t believe I’ve been waiting to do this for so long when all I needed to do was to put on some cucumber lip balm.”

“Shut up..” Doyoung mutters under his breath, face flushed pink.

Taeyong’s smile grows wider and stretches into a smirk. “Make me.”

Doyoung doesn’t have to be told twice. He cups his hands around Taeyong’s chiseled cheekbones and leans in, as Taeyong’s slender fingers come up to wrap around Doyoung’s neck. The kiss is tender, slower, more languid this time as their tongues explore the uncharted territories between them. Doyoung finally feels his month worth of worries ebb away when Taeyong’s lips curve into a smile beneath his own. He knows then, that this was something right, that Taeyong feels as euphoric as he does in the moment, that it was something they both wanted. 

That’s right. _They._

When the two of them part again for air, Taeyong gasps out “We’re okay, right? You won’t run away after this will you?”

Doyoung understands. He knows what Taeyong is afraid of, the unspoken question that hangs in the air. But he is even more certain about the years they have spent together, the bond that they have built and he has faith that _they_ would be able to transcend all those fears together, whatever it may be. 

“Yeah of course. We’re cool.”

“Like cucumbers?” Taeyong grins cheekily at Doyoung. Both of them dissolve into a bout of giggles as they snuggle impossibly closer to each other.

“Love ya, hyung.”

“Me too. I love you.”

  
💚🥒💚  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [twt main](https://twitter.com/sarangaia)   
>  [twt writing ](https://twitter.com/walkingwiththe5)


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